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Tutuwa, Nokware’s CEO
Ghana
Ghanaian Founder and CEO Tutuwa’s great-grandmother was a beneficiary of generations of African women who passed on the wisdom of ages—how to make skincare products using traditional African herbs and oils, and trading them for barter. She knew for instance, to mix Neem leaves with her oils when her skin was breaking out, and to mix Baobab oil with her soaps to slow down wrinkling.
Today, Nokware is a modern-day African skincare brand. Inspired with the wisdom of Tutuwa’s grandma, Nokware aims to promote African herbs, oils and plants, which heal and protect skin and can be found all over Africa. This fusion of traditional and modern-day knowledge is a part of Nokware’s generational legacy, and the team feels privileged to be able to share that heritage with the rest of the world.
Nokware sources its raw materials such as calabashes and shea butter from local women’s co-operatives, with whom the company practices a fair-pricing, zero-exploitation policy, because economic inclusion is its ultimate goal. The company strives to honor Ubuntu, a Southern African philosophy that translates “I am because we are,” by giving back to the community and empowering those who have been traditionally excluded from the workplace, or not given equal opportunities to earn a meaningful livelihood.
“Through Moja, I’ve been able to extend the reach of Nokware, our African skincare brand, empowering communities across Africa and sharing the wisdom of generations while promoting economic and gender inclusion.”
Nokware is choosing to place community commerce at the forefront of its brand. The company believes that together, it can help transform the lives of over 5,000 shea butter processors, calabash growers and agricultural farmers across Africa, many of whom are women. By purchasing a Nokware product, customers make it possible for Nokware to use skincare and commerce as a means to empower communities and to do business in a more beautiful way—with purpose.
In Africa, the gap between men and women is stark in terms of opportunities, status and income. This situation deprives the continent of a huge, valuable resource. This is why Nokware thinks it is a pressing priority to work towards bridging the gender parity gap by empowering African women through employment.
Tutuwa’s great-grandmother never received a formal education but managed to raise eight successful children who have a love for social responsibility. Who knows what her great grandma could have achieved, had she had educational opportunities?
It is this sense of expansive possibilities that inspire Nokware. This is why Nokware is a female-owned business with an all-female factory population and a female affiliate program.